Expertise
aging; entitlement programs; income distribution; labor issues and markets; poverty; Social Security; unemployment
Background
Past Positions
Economist, U.S. Department of Labor (1979-81) and U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1977-79)
Education
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1977; A.B., Yale University, 1972
"The most recent employment and unemployment report for July [2008], combined with the recent spike in new unemployment insurance claims, shows rapid and continuing deterioration in the nation’s job market. The picture is particularly bleak for men, who have seen their unemployment rate go up 1.4 percentage points over the past year, and teenagers, whose unemployment rate has jumped 5 percentage points since July 2007. The number of jobless workers who have been out of work more than 26 weeks has increased almost 370,000 over the past year. The good news is that Congress recently extended unemployment insurance benefits for an additional 13 weeks (from 26 to 39 weeks) so workers collecting unemployment benefits will have a better income cushion until the job market starts to improve again."